Page 55 of Twenty Years Later

"I'm sorry. I'm having trouble talking," I managed to say.

He chuckled and pulled me in closer. "Okay. I tell you what, baby, squeeze my hand once if everything went okay with the doctor."

As I squeezed his hand once, I felt my heart squeeze too. Oy, I had it so bad right now. Hormones, emotions, love, uncertainty, guilt. They all swirled together to make me one big bundle of craziness.

I buried my head in his chest. "You know I'm not normally like this," I muttered against his shirt.

"I know, sweetheart. I know. You've been through a lot. God, you've been through a lot."

Oh, now he was really going to make me cry, but he just held me. For how long, I wasn't sure. We sat there, his thumb making circles on my hand, calming me, infusing me with his own special brand of Alexness… until the girls made an appearance around the corner, probably wondering where we'd been for so long. Audrey had always been great about playing by herself, thank goodness. But that had been a marathon even for her.

Alex patted the bed. "Come on up, girls. We're just having a little rest."

"But didn't Mama already have a nap?" Audrey looked skeptical as she climbed up then hoisted Gabby up next to her.

I laughed as I realized Audrey wasn't going to go easy on me, which was probably a good thing.

They crawled over to us, Audrey tearing the hem of her Elsa dress even more. "Aren't we going to the lighthouse?" she asked.

"Oh, right. I forgot all about that."

She narrowed her little eyes at me. "Why's your voice funny?" She didn't wait for an answer, instead poking my leg. "Come on, Mama!"

I felt Alex's chest rumble with his laughter. "No rest for you..." He leaned closer to my ear, which I was beginning to think was his signature move. "Hot Mama," he whispered.

Giggling, I elbowed him. Making me laugh was Alex's specialty, and I appreciated it now more than ever. "All right. Maybe some cool, fresh air would be nice. I shouldn't sit around all the time anyway."

With great reluctance, I tore myself away from Alex's warm side and stood up from the bed, stretching out my muscles. I looked back at Alex who followed, and the look in his eye melted me, like we had a special secret together, like we were the only two people in the world. Well, except for these two little ones scrambling to get off the big bed.

Alex swooped down to pick up a laughing Gabby, and we all went down the stairs together to grab our jackets. After a few minutes of chaos trying to get two kids into their shoes and out the door, we finally managed to make it to the car and situate the girls in their seats. As we both struggled to buckle them in, Alex's eyes met mine from the other side of the car, his face alight with amusement. And that feeling of being a team swept through me, something I had dearly missed, especially once Audrey was born.

A longing poured through me, right down to my toes. God, how I wanted that. How I wanted to have this man in my life. Not just for the everyday things like getting kids out the door and into the car, but foreverything.

"Toss me the keys?" he asked, a smile on his face.

I clicked together the final clasp in Audrey's harness. "So in other words, you're scared of my driving," I teased.

"No, not at all, baby. But will you let me take care of you? Just a little?" he asked, grinning at me still from across the SUV.

Smiling and shaking my head, I heaved out a sigh as I handed over the keys and shut the door. This was weird, I thought, getting into the passenger side. I was so used to doing everything on my own. Yeah, sure, I had my parents to help. But they were getting kind of up there, and taking care of a little kid took a lot out of them. So I mostly did it on my own.

As Alex adjusted the seat backward and started the car, he glanced at the girls who had their hands occupied with the basket of toys I had put in the car. "I know you don't need a man to take care of you, Jayda. But will you let me spoil you?"

The truth was it felt really nice to have someone drive me around. I really hated driving.

"Just a bit?" Alex asked.

This man was impossible to resist. "Well, maybe just this once. Since you love cars and all."

"You know I've been wanting to check out how this thing handles anyway."

After shooting him a faux glare, he backed out, and I began giving him directions. Not that it was very difficult to get to the lighthouse only five miles away.

"So what do you think?" I asked. "Ready to give up your fancy ride for a more family-friendly SUV?"

His lips curved up in a grin. "I'll consider it."

"I'll believe it when I see it," I teased. "So have you ever driven in snow before?"

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